Death & Recovery

What keeps you here when the fire goes out?

Vitality is not immortality. Even legends fall. But collapse is not the end—it is the question: will you rise again? In that breathless pause between life and death, time narrows.

Every heartbeat becomes a wager. Every roll, a reckoning.

To endure, to awaken, to defy the dark—you must roll.

Four Thresholds of Collapse

No one dies all at once. You lose hope first, breath last.

What Are Recovery Dice?

When all else fails, these are the dice you roll to stay alive.

Recovery Dice are temporary Narateer dice rolled when attempting to regain consciousness, stabilize from critical condition, or survive the brink of death.

They are not a separate dice type, and they are not taken from your Action Dice or Magic Dice pools. They are used only for Recovery Rolls.

Recovery Dice are based on Resilience (RES), representing your body’s ability to endure collapse and cling to life.

Tip: Recovery Dice are not spent, wounded, refreshed, or tracked after the roll. Gather the number required, roll them, resolve the result, and return them to the table.

Unconscious State (VIT = 0)

You feel weightless. The world no longer responds.

Trigger

You enter this state the moment your Vitality reaches 0.

Recovery Roll

Number of Recovery Dice = Resilience (RES)

• At the start of your turn, you roll your Recovery Dice.

Results

Example: Unconscious Recovery Roll

Roryn collapses on the rain-soaked battlefield, her breath shallow as her VIT hits 0. The clash of steel and thunderous roars fades around her. It’s her turn, but she’s unconscious—time for an Unconscious Recovery Roll.

Roryn has a Resilience of 2, so her player gathers 2 temporary Narateer dice as her Recovery Dice.

Roryn’s player rolls: one die shows a single dot (Hit), and one shows two dots—a Critical Hit.

A moment of suspense passes—suddenly, Roryn’s eyes snap open. She pushes herself up, coughing but alive, VIT resetting to 1. Her allies cheer as she scrambles to her feet, eager to rejoin the fight.

Critical State (VIT < 0)

Breath shortens. Memory frays. Instinct takes the wheel.

Trigger

You enter this state when VIT drops below 0.

Recovery Roll

Number of Recovery Dice = RES - 1 per Vitality point below 0

• At the start of your turn, you roll your Recovery Dice.
• If this would reduce your Recovery Dice to 0, you enter the Dying State.

Results

Example: Critical Recovery Roll

Taomkin staggers backward, blood seeping through his armour. He had 1 VIT left before a razor-sharp scythe dealt 2 damage—enough to send him plunging to -1 VIT. The world fades as he collapses, entering Critical State.

Taomkin has a Resilience of 3. Because his Vitality is at -1, he rolls one fewer Recovery Die than normal: 3 - 1 = 2 Recovery Dice.

Taomkin’s player gathers 2 temporary Narateer dice and rolls, praying for a Critical Hit. One die is a blank (a Miss), the other lands on two dots—a Critical Hit.

He stabilizes at 0 VIT, unconscious but no longer spiraling toward death. His allies rush to defend his prone form, relieved to see the faint rise and fall of Taomkin’s chest. If he can survive until his next turn, he’ll try an Unconscious Recovery Roll—and maybe, just maybe, fight again.

Dying State (Recovery Dice = 0)

The last breath trembles in your chest. You get one final chance—your last gasp.

Trigger

You have no Recovery Dice remaining.

The Last Gasp

Last Gasp Die = 1 Narateer die

• At the start of your turn, you roll 1 Last Gasp Die.

Results

Example: The Last Gasp

Lenora lies on the cold stone floor, her final Recovery Dice exhausted. The party watches in grim silence as the flicker of life fades from her eyes.

Now Dying, at the start of her next turn Lenora receives a single die—her Last Gasp—to cling to life.

She rolls, and the result shows a single dot—just a Hit, not the two-dot Critical she needs. Her chest falls still and does not rise again. A hush settles over the chamber as the adventurers realize Lenora has passed beyond mortal hands.

There are no second chances.

The darkness claims her, and their companion is gone forever.

First Aid & Magic Healing

Sometimes, it's the hand that reaches first that saves you.

• A successful Medicine check allows you to roll your next Recovery Roll with Advantage (reroll all Misses).
• If you receive magical healing:
  • Unconscious: Recover VIT equal to the healing. Wake up.
  • Critical: First point stabilizes you (VIT = 0), remainder restores VIT. Wake up.

Tip: Magical healing can bypass rolls entirely. Act fast and apply it early.

Summary

• Four thresholds: Unconscious (VIT = 0) → Critical (VIT < 0) → Dying (Recovery Dice = 0) → Dead (failed Last Gasp).
• Recovery Dice are temporary Narateer dice used only for Recovery Rolls.
• Recovery Dice are based on Resilience (RES). Crits stabilize or wake you; stronger results can restore extra VIT.
• Recovery Dice are not Action Dice or Magic Dice. They are not spent, wounded, refreshed, or tracked after the roll.
• Critical Recovery Dice are reduced by 1 per Vitality point below 0.
• Last Gasp (Dying): Roll 1 Narateer die; only a Critical stabilizes at 0 VIT. Any non-crit = death.
• First Aid & Magic: Medicine grants Advantage on your next Recovery Roll (reroll misses). Magic healing wakes/stabilizes immediately; from Critical, the first point sets VIT to 0, remainder restores VIT.
• Play intent: Collapse is a clock. Act fast—aid and healing shift odds now; delay moves you toward Dying, then Dead.